When Baba Drove the Car

The Exhausted Devotee

Yogendra Prakash Goel of Bareilly had endured one of those days where the weight of the world seemed to press upon his shoulders. He returned home at 8 p.m., utterly spent. Kicking off his shoes, he collapsed onto his bed, too tired even to think of food. Just as sleep began to claim him, his servant appeared with news that jolted him awake: Baba had arrived.

Forcing his weary body into motion, Goel welcomed Baba, served him dinner, and prepared atakhat for the saint. He himself lay down on the floor nearby, hoping to catch a few hours of rest. Barely half an hour had passed when Baba shook him violently awake and ordered him to get the car out of the garage.

“Where do you want to go?” Goel asked, his voice heavy with sleep. “Kainchi,” Baba replied. Goel suggested they go in the morning, but Baba refused. With immense difficulty, Goel pulled himself together, brought the car out, and began driving barefoot — as he always sat with Baba without shoes. His eyelids grew heavier with each passing mile.

The Treacherous Road

The hill roads were unforgiving. Sharp bends, sudden drops, and the pitch‑black night made the journey perilous even for an alert driver. They had several close calls on the turns. By the time they reached Bhumiadhar, Goel wanted to ask Baba to rest, but his tongue had become too heavy to form words. The exhaustion had progressed beyond tiredness — it was now a physical paralysis.

As the car left Bhumiadhar, sleep and exhaustion completely overpowered him. He rested his head on the steering wheel and fell into a deep, unconscious sleep, forgetting entirely that Kainchi was still 12 kilometres away along a treacherous mountain road full of hairpin bends and unguarded culverts. He was completely unaware of passing through Bhowali.

The Awakening

Suddenly, Goel was jolted awake by a violent shake from Baba. “You are sleeping!” Baba shouted. Goel woke in a panic, slammed on the brakes, and looked up. He was staring directly at the gate of the Kainchi ashram. The car was perfectly positioned, as if it had been guided by an unseen hand — which, in truth, it had.

Baba had been awake and entirely in control of the steering wheel the entire journey. The twelve kilometres of dangerous mountain road had been traversed safely while the driver slept. Goel realised, with a mixture of awe and shame, that the saint had taken over his body, his car, and the very laws of physics to bring them home. What should have been a fatal crash became instead a quiet arrival, a silent miracle wrapped in the ordinary act of driving.

Reflections

This leela is not merely about a miraculous journey; it is a profound allegory of the spiritual path. The devotee, exhausted by the world, can no longer steer his own life. He falls asleep at the wheel — symbolising the surrender of the ego. And in that surrender, the guru takes over. Baba did not wake Goel to chastise him; he simply completed the journey, allowing the man to rest in the safety of his grace.

The message is timeless: when you have exhausted your own efforts, when the road ahead seems impossible and your strength is gone, place your head on the steering wheel of life and let the divine drive. You will wake up exactly where you need to be, at the gates of the ashram of your own soul. Baba’s words, “You are sleeping!” were not a rebuke, but a revelation of the truth that we are all asleep, and only the guru is truly awake.